Maximum Copper & Iron to avoid problems

[IrwinK]

My new pool under construction will be filled with water soon.

I don't have test kits for Copper & Iron and nearest pool store does not test these and if they did I wouldn't rely on results.

The report from my water company lists copper on 9/2015 as 0.087 ppm.
.3 ppm is max permitted MCLG (Maximum Contaminant Level Goal)

They show many other metals (nickel, chromium, lead, etc.) with very low ppm - way below MCLG.
But there is no listing for Iron. Wondering why?

Is copper this copper level low?
Do other metals matter? Lots of other stuff listed by water company too.

If anyone had WetEdge plaster do they check for Iron & Copper?

Thanks

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Iron is not considered a drinking water contaminant by the EPA and so there is no requirement for testing it. Rarely do you ever find iron on a municipal water report.

Copper levels above 0.3ppm in your pool could start to show staining. Your fill water is exceptionally low in copper so you have little to worry about there.

For iron, you usually want it to be less than 2ppm but the as close to zero as possible. [EDIT] My original comment about iron being less than 2ppm is only valid if one is actively using sequestrants. Iron, especially in the presence of chlorine, is very insoluble in water and will precipitate out almost immediately as ferrous hydroxide (rust colored brown) when chlorine is added to a pool at standard pool water pH. Therefore, knowing what the iron concentration is would be a good idea. [END-EDIT] Are there any pool stores in your area that test for it? Does the plastering company test for it? Are they starting up your pool water or leaving it up to the PB?

 

[IrwinK]

Thanks Matt, I'm hoping WetEdge the plasterer will test for Iron. I can't rely on the PB to test. In any case will ask when they get started. I think the PB will do the startup but can't be sure as he is way overloaded now.

If I don't get the iron test from either of them I'll try another pool store. I've been to closest one that start with P and there are 4 of those in my area and the only other other one I know of is the one that starts with L.

If I decide to get an Iron test kit, there are less expensive ones than the K-1716 Taylor. Are AquaChek or LaMotte accurate?

My community water seems to have low readings on everything so I might not need to test now.

 

[IrwinK]

I emailed my water company about Iron and below is the reply. I think I have very low Iron well below the maximum but the reading is in mg/L so I need your help to understand. Thanks.

"There is no listing on the report for iron because it is a secondary contaminant and it did not exceed iron’s maximum contaminant level (MCL). The MCL for iron is 0.3 mg/L. We pull iron during our primary and secondary testing once every three years. The last time we pulled it was in October of 2015 and the result was 0.053 mg/L. These are not tested by the City of Eustis we use an independent lab for testing. The small amount of iron in our water most likely will not affect the swimming pool water. The tap water from the system comes from the Floridan Aquifer we have two raw water wells by the water plant in the subdivision. The 2016 CCR (Consumer Confidence Report) can’t come out until we have pulled all of the samples through-out the year. They are due in July of the next year but we get ours out as early as March or April."

 

[IrwinK]

mg/L to ppm Converter, Chart -- EndMemo

Found this website and calculator says they they are the same.

So I have .053 ppm.

 

[IrwinK]

Did research on old threads and found that Iron below .3 ppm is good.

According to the water company I have .053 ppm so I'm in very good shape ready for the fill and startup.

And thanks to the water company have avoided the guess strips and/or a dreaded trip to another pool store that likely would try to sell me a Sequestering Agent.